Our California kindergarteners spent Friday morning at San Jose Fire Station 16 with the C Shift Crew.

They arrived at 10:00 AM in their field trip shirts and the most excited look on their faces. The crew was waiting at the open bay door. Our children got close to the engine and looked over the gear that hangs ready beside it.

Why This Trip, and Why Now

August on our cultural calendar belongs to “Me and My Community,” our geography topic for the month. Right now the concept of community helpers is fresh from the curriculum.

In our infant communities that means a basket of small figures to hold and explore. Police officers, firefighters, mail carriers. In our toddler rooms, children sort them and name them. In Primary, the work grows into real questions about who keeps a town running.

A morning like this one turns all of that into something a child can touch. A five year old who has studied the concept of a firefighter now knows what the real coat weighs.

How the Kindergarten Year Works

Our kindergarteners take a field trip every month from September through May. Each one connects to what the class is studying at the time. Each one gives them a reason to open those journals and put down what they saw while it is still fresh.

What a Fully Implemented Montessori Education Looks Like on a Friday Morning

Dr. Montessori believed children come to understand the world by moving through it. Our kindergarteners did exactly that at Station 16. They asked questions, looked closely at the equipment, thanked the crew, and talked about it the whole way back.

Our thanks to the firefighters of Station 16 for opening their doors to our children.